deonb
Pattern Altitude
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,266
- Display Name
Display name:
deonb
Learn the difference between solid and stranded CAT5 first if you want to DIY.
[NA] LAN cabling Question
- Thread starter AggieMike88
- Start date
Learn the difference between solid and stranded CAT5 first if you want to DIY.
Escher
Filing Flight Plan
It just occurred to me that I don't know if you're running cable in a plenum ceiling or not. If so you need plenum cable or metal conduit and some localities require conduit no matter what.
Plenum ceiling: look for the air returns in your ceiling. This is the vent that sucks air in from the workspace and brings it back to the air handler. If the vent it just opens up into the general area above the ceiling and does not have ductwork connecting to the air handler then you have a Plenum ceiling.
In case of a fire any wiring that's in that area could give off toxic gases that will then be pumped out into the workspace if the HVAC does not shut down properly.
Plenum ceiling: look for the air returns in your ceiling. This is the vent that sucks air in from the workspace and brings it back to the air handler. If the vent it just opens up into the general area above the ceiling and does not have ductwork connecting to the air handler then you have a Plenum ceiling.
In case of a fire any wiring that's in that area could give off toxic gases that will then be pumped out into the workspace if the HVAC does not shut down properly.
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Shouldn't solid be used in long runs but handled carefully (no twists, kinks, exceeding bend radius) and stranded used in short applications like patch cables, device to wall cables?
Yes.
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Thanks. Thought it might be another thing I'd have to unlearn, then learn the new way or something.
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
One thing I had to learn but never quite understood, is that there are different male RJ45 cable ends; one for stranded and one for solid (and they are a bit difficult to tell apart; they should truly be color coded).
The 'not understood' part being, why is there a male termination available for solid wire if solid always terminates in a patch panel (if done right) or at a wall plate (female termination).
The 'not understood' part being, why is there a male termination available for solid wire if solid always terminates in a patch panel (if done right) or at a wall plate (female termination).
John221us
En-Route
Not really a problem. You should never crimp a male connector onto solid core. Solid core should only connect to a wall jack or a patch panel. Therefore, only buy crimp connectors for stranded or better yet, just buy your patch cables pre-made, they are cheap. The only time I crimp is if I am making a crossover cable for a T1 connection (almost never need crossovers for Ethernet anymore).
denverpilot
Tied Down
I can think of a number of ways and times we crimped ends on solid core in large datacenters. There's no hard fast rule other than "don't put the wrong connectors on the wrong kind of cable".
I can guarantee that will lead to much pain and suffering for a very long time until someone decides to either run all new cable and do a quick repatch for low downtime or someone decides to take the downtime of disconnecting it all and re-doing it.
BTDT, got the t-shirt. The cleanup part anyway.
I can guarantee that will lead to much pain and suffering for a very long time until someone decides to either run all new cable and do a quick repatch for low downtime or someone decides to take the downtime of disconnecting it all and re-doing it.
BTDT, got the t-shirt. The cleanup part anyway.
denverpilot
Tied Down
PS - we also taught the guy who did it the difference between the connector types and what part numbers the good Amphenol ones were at Graybar.
How we taught was by everyone asking him "is this the correct type?" as the four of us sat there re-terminating hundreds of cables one late Saturday night after midnight... haha.
How we taught was by everyone asking him "is this the correct type?" as the four of us sat there re-terminating hundreds of cables one late Saturday night after midnight... haha.
John221us
En-Route
We don't do that, unless it is a super temporary long patch cable. Solid core needs to be secured or it will eventually break. It doesn't take much longer to do it right. Even APs in ceilings get a secured jack and a patch cable. I am not saying it isn't done, but it isn't the right way to do it. In a small office, for sure, do it right the first time. Now days, I don't terminate much cable, unless it a time crunch and just needs to get done, but I also don't put up with lazy work that I end up having to troubleshoot and fix later.
I've never seen building wiring in other than solid. In addition to the longer runs, it's the stuff most of the structure wiring is designed for. Stranded is usually done for cords and a few places where you need the flexibility .
denverpilot
Tied Down
Thousands of wires in well-secured bundles in cable trays and inside rack cabinets. It wasn't exactly "building" risers but it wasn't exactly "temporary" either.
Never saw any of the moveable ends (the last foot or so inside a cabinet going to the gear, but designed to be unplugged and moved if the gear has to be swapped out of the cabinet) break internally ever. Saw a number of badly crimped RJs fall off when someone went to unplug them, though.
Mainly it was simpler to keep solid core in stock inside a data center or CO, and the correct connectors on the floor, so the low level techs didn't screw it up and put the wrong ends on the wrong cable. If a project really needed a flexible cable we'd order that separate and put it on a cart just for that project and keep the two segregated and make sure the apprentices and low level techs knew exactly which cables needed that... "... stuff over there on the cart... don't mix that with the stuff from the storage area... any leftovers on that cart go down the hall to my/his (depending on who was in charge's) office when we're done."
But we are talking low level folks here. Like the guy who tried to pull -48 VDC to a server rack after connecting the live end to the power supply and battery banks first and figured out his mistake when he started arc welding the top of a cabinet beneath a cable tray... I missed that one, but the story goes that he started about 5AM and once he had a cable go "bang" and scare him, he couldn't think of any way to loop it up and keep it from shorting out on the tray or the cabinets, so he stood there on the ladder until the 6AM crew came in and saw him waving at them on the closed circuit cameras displayed in the NOC out front. LOL.
One type of cable and one type of connector was kinda a "requirement" in that environment. Make it nearly impossible for someone to use the wrong stuff. Oh sure, we taught it to anyone bright enough to ask why certain stuff was locked up in the site engineer's office... but after being burnt by "qualified" techs more than once... measures were taken.